Eat Well, Spend Less: 3 Easy Recipes to Last You 3 Days Solo

Want to reduce the number of times you need to cook throughout the week while eating enough to satisfy your stomach? You’ve come to the right place

As if having a work-life balance wasn’t hard enough, thinking of ideas to cook for the week adds another layer of stress and exhaustion. Not to mention, the high prices of groceries now a days makes it even more difficult to figure out meals that can be affordable on a week-to-week basis. Lucky for you, I happen to enjoy cooking and have figured out a few simple dishes that can last you up to three days, including lunch and dinner, while cutting on the costs of groceries. If you’re okay with eating the same thing for a few days, help yourselves out to the following three recipes:

#1: Vegetable Soup w/ Chicken

Ingredients:

1. A bag of bowtie soup (or any soup)
2. 4 squashes
3. 4 carrots
4. 2 small chicken breasts (or 1 big one)
5. Salt
6. 3 garlic cloves
7. Onion
8. Oil

Instructions:

1. Clean the chicken breasts. In a pot, add the chicken breasts and some water to cover the meat. Add the 3 garlic cloves, a slice of onion, and a light drizzle of salt to the pot. Boil the water.
2. Feel the chicken with a fork from time to time until the chicken is soft (usually 45 minutes). Turn the heat off and let the chicken cool in a plate. Keep the stew in the pot.
3. Wash the carrots and squash. Peel the carrots and cut them into small rectangles. Cut the squash into thin circles.
4. Break down the chicken into thin pieces once cool.
5. In another pot, add a spoon of oil (any oil, but I prefer corn oil). This pot is where the whole soup will be cooked. Fry the whole bag of soup until it looks golden.
6. Add the stew from the other pot and the pieces of chicken onto the pot with the soup. Add another cup or two of water, depending on your judgement and how much stew you want. Taste the stew to see if you want to add more salt. Let it cook until it starts to boil. (You can remove the garlic and onion if you want once it starts boiling)
7. Add the carrots. Let it cook for 5 minutes. After those 5 minutes, add the squash. Let it cook another 5 minutes. Once the vegetables feel soft, you’re done!

#2: Huevos Ahogados (Drowned Eggs) w/ Rice

Ingredients:

1. 15-18 Eggs
2. 3 Squashes
3. 4 Tomatoes
4. 1 garlic clove
5. Onion
6. 1 pouch of Sazon Goya
7. 1 cube of Chicken Flavor Bouillon
8. Salt
9. White Rice
10. Oil

Instructions (Eggs):

1. In a blender, add the 4 tomatoes, garlic clove, a slice of onion, a drizzle of salt, a cube of Chicken Flavor Bouillon, and the pouch of Sazon Goya. Add water to cover everything in the blender. Blend
2. Wash the squash and cut them into rectangles or circles, whichever you prefer.
3. Heat up a pot with a spoonful of oil inside. Add the blender sauce into the pot once hot. Add water as needed to almost fill the pot. Taste the sauce to see if you want to add more salt.
4. Let the sauce simmer until it starts to boil. Add the squash first. Add the eggs afterwards. Be sure not to add eggs one on top of another consecutively.
5. Let it cook for 10 minutes or until the squash is soft. Done!

Rice (I suggest cooking it simultaneously):

1. Boil some water in a pot. Turn off the pot and add a mug of rice to the water once it boiled. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
2. Let the rice drain in a strainer. Put a pan on the stove to heat up. Add a spoonful of oil to the pan. Once the rice is mostly dry, it is ready to cook.
3. Add the rice to the pan. Let it fry until the rice starts to get slightly more golden/darker. Make sure you move the rice with a spoon consistently so it won’t burn. Add more oil as needed. The rice shouldn’t take more than 7 minutes to be fried.
4. Add two cups of water or until the rice is covered with water in the pan. Add salt to the water to your preference. If you have a garlic clove, you can add it for more flavor.
5. Once the rice soaks the water, you are done!

#3: Pozole

Ingredients:

1. 2 small chicken breasts (or 1 big one)
2. A big can of White Hominy (pozole)
3. 3 garlic cloves
4. Onion
5. Salt
6. Oregano powder

Instructions:

1. Clean the chicken breasts. In a pot, add the chicken breasts and some water to cover the meat. Add the 3 garlic cloves, a slice of onion, and a light drizzle of salt to the pot. Boil the water.
2. Feel the chicken with a fork from time to time until the chicken is soft (usually 45 minutes). Turn the heat off and let the chicken cool in a plate. Keep the stew in the pot.
3. Wash the white hominy and drain it in a strainer. Break down the chicken into thin pieces once its cooled.
4. Turn on the pot with the stew again. Put the white hominy in the stew and some oregano powder at the same time. Add water to almost fill up the pot. Check the stew for salt and add more at your preference. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken pieces to the pot. Let it cook until the stew boils. Done!

I would recommend saving these recipes for a Sunday afternoon if that’s when you have the most time. That way, you won’t have to cook until Wednesday or even Thursday depending on how much you eat. You are sure to be full after every meal and save a lot of money. Hope you enjoy!